Happy Birthday to Game Truck Australia!

Posted on June 15, 2015

Well this is perhaps the most exciting post I’ve written in about 12 months. On June 14th, 2014 I ran the very first Game Truck Australia party (sure I didn’t yet have the truck, but that came soon after!). That means that coming up this Sunday is the first birthday of the business!

An early profile of a happy Game Trucker

A first business birthday is special because, like that of a human, it means survival. It means that this thing has not gone the way of most businesses, which fail early. It’s a kind of rite of passage, a flag in the ground marking the sustainability of your model, the appeal of your product. It shows it wasn’t just a fluke or a one-off, that it might have legs.

At the beginning of the operation I set myself a modest but, at the time, alarming goal: to have delivered an average of one paying party or event per week. I’m very happy to report that my final total was 1.2 per week, so that goal has been solidly met, if not exactly smashed. These events have been for boys, girls, 7 year olds, 70 year olds, Youth Camps, Oz Comic Con, the Tour Down Under, and more – the incredible diversity of people who love the Game Truck never ceases to amaze me.

In the time since I started it (a little over a year now) I’ve posted 56 blog posts, from reviews, to commentary on recent trends and controversies on game culture, to opportunities for educational gaming and reports on some of the epic events that I’ve been part of. I’m particularly pleased that I’m building more fodder for the ‘Ask a Gamer’ thread of blog posts, meaning that this is a place that people can ask for views on games and game culture, knowing they’ll get an informed and educated response that can appeal to a wide audience. It’s great hearing that someone loved looking at the blog and they saw something from a different perspective, because they are the conversations that I want to have more than anything.

Game Trucking in the City of Churches: big public events like Fork on the Road are one of the best experiences ever

Most of all I’m just having a really great time, and heaps of fun with this crazy beast called game Truck Australia. It is the most challenging and rewarding thing I’ve done in a long time, and I feel incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to achieve this dream. I am really lucky to be a part of the lives of families, couples, and friends, but especially in the celebration of the birthdays of so many great kids surrounded by loving families and joyful friends. It’s a real honour, and one that I appreciate every time someone trusts me enough to run a special birthday party for their son or daughter. Thanks especially to everyone who has written a Facebook review – I love hearing about the amazing experiences that parties have in the truck.

Not a bad track record so far!

I am also incredibly grateful to specific individuals and organisations who have really helped to make this first year in business so successful. Eternal gratitude to my sister Kirrily and brother Cullen for early business ideas and expert advice. Special thanks to every single person who backed my Indiegogo campaign when the Game Truck was nothing but an idea, and thanks to all the trades and contractors who have worked to build and maintain the truck when I was stumbling around with hand-drawn design documents. Thanks to all networking buddies in BNI and beyond; you were awesome. Thanks to every individual and organisation who has booked me for a party or an event; this shows real faith in me and I’m pretty sure I didn’t disappoint. Finally, thanks to all the family, friends, and social media friends who have shown so much support and encouragement; it has been invaluable. Business is a thrill, and you can make your dreams come true.

TL;DR: Year Zero rocked; Year One is going to be epic!

1 Reply to "Happy Birthday to Game Truck Australia!"

June 16, 2015 (5:41 am)

Happy Birthday from VR Insanity Arcade Melbourne! We know how you feel, it’s great having that bday, although for us it was more like “hey, I think our business birthday was a few weeks ago, awesome!” lol Keep up the great work! PARTY ON!

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